Coffee

Sorry I was MIA for a few days. The holiday weekend was truly a relaxing weekend. I didn’t go far but I enjoyed my husband and a few friends just sitting out in our back yards chatting and sipping on a few Angry Orchards. (More on these later) I did have a few concious bad decisions over the past 5 days. I ate 1/2 of my absolute fair favorite FRIED DOUGH on Wednesday watching the fire works and on Saturday evening I did have 1 cup of ICE CREAM. Not fretting though or even worrying as I know that I am completely happy & comfortable with my way of life and eating paleo…ish so I don’t punish myself for little side steps I may take. I know I will never go back to eating disgusting unhealthy foods like that as a habit every again. I have been blessed with the opportunity of seeing the amazing benefits and results in myself and this keeps me focused 93% of the time. 🙂 Ok enough jibber jabber on that. Lets talk coffee!!!!!

“The first cups of coffee in the morning tastes like you’ve just taken one step into heaven”

Are you like me and millions of other people? Do you need your coffee in the morning? My day just does not get started unless I have that first cup of coffee. Well its more like I can’t function properly without having at least 2 cups in the morning.Coffee for me is a luxury. This is my gift to my taste buds, my mind and body each day. Now since I started eating in a paleoish way, I did have to alter the way I drink my coffee. As I have stated before when I first started the “Whole 30” back in Feb I only drank it black. Never did I think I would be able to do this. I did though and surprised even myself for 30 or more days. The acidity in the coffee started to give me a not so friendly taste in my mouth after a bit though. I then began experimenting with Coconut milk and Almond Milk. I even tried putting coconut oil in it as a few people close to me do. ( yea this was not for me, I did not like the added oil in the coffee at all). My favorite go to is unsweetened Almond milkor full fat coconut milk. If I drink iced and I am on the road, I will get an iced coffee with 1 sugar to help with the bitter taste but I won’t have their milk or cream. And of course at home I enjoy my iced just as I do my hot, especially on a hot summer day. I love my coffee. But just as much as I enjoy that, I know it is very important to drink my water as well. Remember Coffee is a diuretic and it will not hydrate you if you are drininking a lot it! If you are consuming only small amounts you are fine. But I would recommend definitely getting in your water consumption each day in addition to your coffee. (See earlier post below for the amounts you should be having daily)

BENEFITS OF COFFEE

Many studies have found that the more coffee (three or more cups a day), the lower the risk of death regardless of whether participants drank caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee. Findings were similar to another large studypublished in 2008, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.

Another study published in the Journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention found that women who drank more than four cups of coffee a day had a 25 percent lower risk of endometrial cancer.

A 2012 study at the Agricultural and food Chemistry, found that a compound in coffee actually helped to block a substance in the body called human islet amyloid polypeptide that may play a role in the development of diabetes. Further studies have demonstrated that caffeinated coffee consumption is linked to decreased diabetes risk as well.

Coffee drinkers are more likely to resist development of dementia and Alzheimer’s later in life according to a 2009 study at the Journal of Alzheimers Disease .

Drinking coffee may help you to ward off the most diagnosed form of skin cancer! A studyin the journal Cancer Research that looked specifically at the caffeine in coffee demonstrated that coffee drinkers had a lower risk of developing basal cell carcinoma.

DOES COFFEE AFFECT WEIGHT LOSS

According to the web site myfoodapedia.gov — part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion — a 6-ounce cup of black coffee contains just 7 calories. Add some half & half and you’ll get 46 calories. If you favor a liquid nondairy creamer, that will set you back 48 calories. A teaspoon of sugar will add about 23 calories.

Drink a lot of coffee and you may head to the bathroom more often. Caffeine is a mild diuretic — that is, it makes you urinate more than you would without it. Decaffeinated coffee has about the same effect on urine production as water.